PitPoint.LNG said it will set up Germany’s first liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering station in the harbor of Cologne.
PitPoint.LNG is a joint venture formed by Dutch PitPoint clean fuels and Primagaz Nederland.
The new station will facilitate the bunkering of LNG-powered inland vessels that sail on Europe’s busiest transport waterway, the Rhine.
The construction of the bunkering station is the next step in PitPoint.LNG’s strategy to develop a European LNG infrastructure to facilitate the uptake of LNG as fuel for road and marine transport, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.
The launching customer for the LNG bunkering station will be the Hague-based LNG giant Shell. Shell and PitPoint.LNG have signed a long-term agreement.
As from the start of operation, which is planned for mid-2018, this LNG bunkering station will bunker the chilled fuel for the inland dual-fuel barges that Shell has chartered from Antwerp-based Plouvier Transport and its Swiss unit Intertrans Tankschiffahrt.
“We are very pleased to start with the realization of this LNG bunkering station and to have Shell as a key launching customer. Enabling companies such as Shell to transport and deliver their goods in a cleaner and more environmental friendly way supports PitPoint’s mission to realize 100% clean transport in 2030,” said Jan Willem Drijver , Managing Director at PitPoint.LNG.
Lauran Wetemans , Shell’s General Manager Downstream LNG, said that together with the infrastructure developed in Rotterdam, this station would expand the availability of LNG fuel for customers on the Rhine – Europe’s key inland waterway.
“We look forward to working with PitPoint.LNG to make this a reality,” added Wetemans.